40 Breeder Sump & Refugium Design

[DirtDiggler2823]

Flexible pvc pipe. It’s going to blow. Your. Mind. Regarding plumbing options

This is 2 feet doing an s-curve in 2 planes. This is my return line going from basement through floor to office

Mind. Blown.

 

[George Lopez]

The name is triton method, attempting to achieve 0 water changes

 

[George Lopez]

Pump seems to fit nicely. After i get the skimmer and fit that, i can start cutting baffles.

Good looks like you left enough to upgrade your pump to the 10000 later lol

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Good looks like you left enough to upgrade your pump to the 10000 later lol

If i need that beast on this build then something is awry. Lol.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

The name is triton method, attempting to achieve 0 water changes

I'm actually planning on getting a rodi for the periodic water change.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

So, what are everyone's thoughts on how this is progressing?

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

To play devils advocate (I largely agree with most of your post, that balancing ATO sensor position is dependent on return chamber size)-

Make sure your return chamber isn’t too big, in that, if the pump was to pump it dry and send all that water to the DT (ie if your overflows get blocked) then your DT has enough residual unused capacity that it can take that water volume.

If you have your DT water level an inch below the rim, and this equates to (for example) 9 gallons of space, and your return chamber is 12 gallons... where is that last 3 gallons going?

FWIW I haven’t used this consideration in my builds since I did a bean animal drain system. Blockage failures in all 3 drains at once is statistically extremely unlikely.

agreed; and agreed: highly unlikely. ...But I still agree on the first point. I did say deeper is better - but there is a limit. Don't make the return chamber so deep that it's volume exceeds the spare volume in the attached main display -a good addendum to my earlier comments on return chamber sizing.

and OP - good choice on BeanAnimal.

Re: the last post - you've got the facts you need to move forward. You've done great work researching and considering options. You've listened and comprehended the advice given. It's time to start gaining experience. Time to start making.

 

[Jay Duke]

I just read through this whole thread and want to say - thanks to everyone here. You've made me consider a whole bunch of stuff when planning out my build. Stuff I didn't think of before (like depth of return chamber.)

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

agreed; and agreed: highly unlikely. ...But I still agree on the first point. I did say deeper is better - but there is a limit. Don't make the return chamber so deep that it's volume exceeds the spare volume in the attached main display -a good addendum to my earlier comments on return chamber sizing.

and OP - good choice on BeanAnimal.

Re: the last post - you've got the facts you need to move forward. You've done great work researching and considering options. You've listened and comprehended the advice given. It's time to start gaining experience. Time to start making.

Skimmer arrives today, and i should order the filter cups soon as well. That will allow me to scale everything appropriately. I should be able to find 1/4 inch acrylic at lowes, so we are close to putting this together.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

So, what should the bottom of the fuge be? Deep sand bed?

 

[User]

So, what should the bottom of the fuge be? Deep sand bed?

Bare. Maybe some small live rock pieces, baseball sized

Makes removing detritus easy

 

[Reef-junky]

You can run a DSB. I would put it in a container or run a remote DSB in case something goes wrong or you decide to remove it. A DSB can crash your tank by the way if it goes wrong. Instead of rocks I would use marine pure blocks in the sump.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

You can run a DSB. I would put it in a container or run a remote DSB in case something goes wrong or you decide to remove it. A DSB can crash your tank by the way if it goes wrong. Instead of rocks I would use marine pure blocks in the sump.

Trying to grow pods in the sump as well.

 

[Reef-junky]

An ATS, marine pure block, or chaeto are all places pods can live and I’m sure there’s more.

 

[Reef-junky]

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/faq-20-marinepure-vs-deep-sand-bed-filtration-52faq/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/pros-vs-cons-deep-sand-bed-vs-shallow-sand-bed.87740/

 

[Reef-junky]

A DSB can work but it has risks that other methods that do the same thing don’t have. The question for you to think of is the risk worth it to you. I was going to run a DSB myself but decided not to because I read to many post about tank crashes and the DSB getting blamed. Someone will probably post about how they have been running a DSB for 10 years with no problem but over all there seems to be more post about tank crashes.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

An ATS, marine pure block, or chaeto are all places pods can live and I’m sure there’s more.

I'll read those articles tonight. Thanks!

 

[Reef-junky]

Just things to consider before you add a deep sand bed.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Just assembled my first Protein Skimmer!!!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Just things to consider before you add a deep sand bed.

There doesn't seem to be any conclusive evidence that a DSB is detrimental. Most folks avoid it because it CAN go wrong. I'll be using a DSB in my DT so the gobys have somewhere to play and be happy, but in the fuge, I'll go with MarinePure and rubble.